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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24692314">Jericho</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melle66/pseuds/Melle66'>Melle66</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>NCIS</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>A dash of Jimmy, AU, F/M, His Dark Materials AU</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 08:35:16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,854</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24692314</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melle66/pseuds/Melle66</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In an attempt to find his estranged daemon, Gibbs travels to Oxford in search for a guide who will take him to the infamous Blue Hotel. What he finds in said guide might change his course of action.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jethro Gibbs/Jacqueline "Jack" Sloane</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The proposal</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Sooooo... I started writing this for the last Slibbs week that was organized, but life got in the way and I evidently didn't finish it on time. I think I took the AU idea too far and I'm aware I might be the only person who's curious about this scenario. It's been interesting to explore these two in said universe and I am definitely planning to add more chapters (hopefully) to this story. </p>
<p>Please leave your love (if you wish to) with comments and kuddos ;)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>“She wondered whether there would ever come an hour in her life when she didn't think of him -- didn't speak to him in her head, didn't relive every moment they'd been together, didn't long for his voice and his hands and his love.” Philip Pullman</span>
  </em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>He saw her as she crossed the bridge from the Boathouse to the Meadow Walk. Why everything had to be a walk in that place, he did not understand. The sun was still high in the sky, but he could see clouds forming, and felt the water under his boat shift, reminding him of the unpredictable nature of the English weather. He took in her flowery dress and thought for a second that she was terribly unprepared for the rain that was to come, but then he noticed its stark contrast with her brown leather boots underneath it, along with the umbrella hanging from her elbow, and chuckled at his own naivety. He’d been observing her from the shelter of his boat, still unconvinced about approaching her. Leon had given him the best references about the archeologist, but Gibbs didn’t need to do much research on her to know she was a walking storm encased in a petite body. Oh, no, he wasn’t fooled by her carefree image with the flowery dress and wavy hair bouncing just above her shoulders. He was familiar with her powerful strides, each step full of a purpose he knew well since it mirrored his own. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was a fighter, it was obvious. Hidden from her eyes, he had noticed how people instinctively stepped away from her, with some of their daemons crying or hissing as she made her way into one of the clubs. It didn’t take long for her to be back outside, though. Gibbs had barely put down his beer and slung his duffel bag across his torso when he saw her storm out of the building with a tall, balding man and a black cat close on her heels. Slowly, the sailor had sat back down to watch the scene in front of him unfold.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The pair exchanged heated whispers, even though the man’s face was void of emotion while hers held a cold smile. The man motioned towards his cat with one hand, making her take a step back while the cat arched its back and circled around her. Still, she didn’t take her eyes off the man. Instead, she added a few words and quickly turned to walk back into the building, but the man blocked her way with his body and stretched out a hand with a small leather bag on it. There was a frown on his face now as he stared at her. Both remained still for a few seconds while the cat hissed and growled. As if tired of the humans, the cat bristled, finally managing to get the woman to look at it. With a huff, the blonde snatched the bag from the man’s hand and turned around without saying a word.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was hesitant before, but watching her stirred a familiar feeling within his chest. It wasn’t necessary for him to listen to the words that had been spoken, for he knew them by heart. It was the same he heard anywhere he went unless the people were half-decent. It wasn’t enough for people like them to be alone; they also had to be exiles. So he stood up and climbed down from the boat, steps firm on the land, and followed the woman from a distance.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>***</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The walk along the Thames was her favorite part of the day, but she hated it during the summer. It was fair in a way, an eye for an eye, considering she was just another foreigner in Oxford. Another stranger among a myriad of tourists crowding the Walks. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>At least you’ve stopped getting in the way of the bikes” </span>
  </em>
  <span>she thought, letting out a bitter huff when she noticed yet another teenager with a camera who stopped to look at her. She sported a frown, which deepened as a Hercules beetle spread its wings over her shoulder. The girl turned her head towards it and whispered a few words, looking her up and down as if searching for something. Her open staring would have surprised Jack if she hadn’t already had the encounter of the week -</span>
  <em>
    <span>or the month- </span>
  </em>
  <span>by the boathouse. Fighting her instinct to roll her eyes, Jack chose to smile at her instead before glancing down at the water and mumbling a few words, then resumed her walk. As usual, the trick seemed to appease the girl and her daemon, who seemed to lose all interest in her as he walked down his human’s arm before spreading his wings to soften the fall to the ground. Without either of them needing to take the lead, both stepped away from the road to walk across the meadow, paying Jack no more attention than an afterthought. Exactly what she begged for every day of her life.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a time when she yearned to be noticed, and never one to do things half-heartedly, she usually got her way. As a student, she had managed to balance perfect discipline with a thriving social life. Then came the expeditions, where her dedication earned her the loyalty of her Wingos, but so much had been broken since then. They were gone so painfully slow, and when it was all over, </span>
  <em>
    <span>he </span>
  </em>
  <span>left. She stopped once again and moved away from the road, facing the river. This was why she disliked the summer, even though its Oxford sunny mornings were the closest she could be to her warm California coast. It was the tourists and their neverending curiosity she couldn’t stand. She longed for them to return to their homes so she could see the same old faces which, although still judged her, were at least already bored of looking at her. She craved for people who had grown used to her and didn’t seem fazed by her brokenness. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Loneliness” </span>
  </em>
  <span>she corrected herself, but it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>his</span>
  </em>
  <span> voice with a hint of irony in its tenor growl she heard in her mind. With closed eyes, she tilted her head back, letting her face bathe in the sunlight.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When she opened her eyes and turned around, she saw a boy a few feet away, his small hand pointing at the river with a smile so bright it hurt to look at. Not that she would keep staring at him, of course. She figured her own discomfort could be shared even among those who were still complete, so she refused to let her eyes linger on the kid, ignored the pang of nostalgia when she noticed his daemon rapidly changing from a pup, to a cat, before settling into an owl flying in circles just above his head. She could barely remember the days when B could still do that, and yet she remembered being marveled by the different shapes he morphed into. Sometimes not even he knew what kind of animal he had turned into and now it seemed fateful too; Jack wasn’t sure of what kind of person she had become. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <b>***</b>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The small cafe down in Jericho was one of her favorite places in the city. The owner was a young man called Jim, who also didn’t have a daemon, which meant both that most people avoided the place like the plague, and that those like her saw it as a shelter of sorts. It was a safe place in which they weren’t judged or confronted by anyone, unless they wanted to face Jim’s wrath. Jack had only witnessed it once, and although the man was adorable, she had vouched to live the rest of her days in a way that would keep her in his good graces. It was an added bonus that Jim always found a way to give her the table by the balcony on the second floor. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So she sat alone with the cup of sugar and a dash of coffee on her hands, pretending to be enthralled by the rain while in reality she kept shooting glances at the man with the duffel bag. He had been following her since she walked out of the Christ Church meadow, maybe even before but she had been too deep in thought to notice. He had spent fifteen minutes standing outside in the rain before finally entering the café. Through the corner of her eyes, she noticed his heavy steps climbing up the stairs, and the careless way in which he slid his bag down the table across from her before slumping on a chair. She saw him scan the menu with an air of uninterest before asking Jim for a coffee. Black.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lifting her own cup to her lips with both hands, Jack took a long sip and felt the warm drink fill her chest. The duffel bag meant he was probably in search of a guide, but it didn’t explain how he knew about her. She had retired from that life ever since she decided to permanently leave overseas. In Oxford, she was nothing more than a lonely American who did research for an old professor at Regent Park’s College. He had to know her from before, then, or someone from her past told him about her. The world would surely stop spinning when Leon Vance accepted that part of her life was over. She simply didn’t have the heart to do it anymore. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The man puzzled her, nevertheless. He had followed her all the way from the river, but never approached her. Even now that she was clearly not going anywhere, he seemed hesitant to talk to her. He had probably noticed she didn’t have a daemon and was now weighing his chances of finding a different guide.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Why come in, then?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” asked that voice in her head, making her almost choke on her coffee. After coughing a couple of times, she glanced around the place as if making sure no one saw her, and her eyes locked with the stranger’s blue ones for a moment. It was striking how in spite of having met many humans who had gone through the </span>
  <em>
    <span>separation</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she could never get used to the clouded look that each of them carried in their eyes. Hell, she saw it everyday whenever she looked at a mirror, and yet it still hit her like a punch, tightening her chest and making her want to curl up and sob her way into nothingness. It was a fantasy to believe one day she would stop feeling the emptiness within when she now saw how widespread it was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Turning her eyes away from him and back to the street, she took a moment to breathe and ground herself. Her hand holding the mug came to rest back on the table as she watched a lone figure, soaked from head to toes, crossing the street on a bike. She took slow, deep breaths and pretended not to hear the man’s approaching steps until he pulled out a chair from her table, the one to her right.  Knowing there was no way of ignoring him, she slowly turned her head to look back at him, tilting it to the side with an arched brow. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Both of them could see the hurt in each other, could read all the signs of a story that ended leaving them without a companion, but they were both proud. They held their gaze for a moment, as if daring the other to acknowledge their condition, until she finally relaxed back into her chair and brought the mug to her lips. He leaned forward instead, resting his forearm on the table with the ghost of a grin tugging at the corner of his lips. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m inactive.” The words left her mouth in such a calm tone that she wondered if she should have spoken louder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before the man could say a word, Jim appeared at the top of the stairs and stopped abruptly when he saw she had been joined at her table. He turned to the man’s old one, with the duffel bag still abandoned under it, then hesitantly walked towards Jack and the man. In a deliberately slow movement, he placed the black coffee in front of the man while keeping his eyes on Jack. The newcomer mumbled a “thanks” barely sparing him a glance.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anything else for you, Jack?” asked Jimmy, his eyes going from her to the man and back. She smiled at his protective nature and lightly shook her head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you, Jim. Everything’s fine.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The younger man walked back downstairs once he felt at ease, leaving Jack alone with the stranger once more. They were both silent as the man drank from his coffee with calmness, with Jack waiting for him to finally speak. Under different circumstances, she would have already sent him his way, but the man intrigued her. It wasn’t that she would consider going into a new expedition, nothing on earth would ever make her change her mind, no matter where, no matter the reasons. Still, it didn’t mean she didn’t want to </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Four days, at the most,” he said, pacing the mug on the table with both hands, then tilting his head up to look at her, eyes piercing, “I’ll pay you up front, you can come back as soon as you get me there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jack arched her brow at him before lacing her hands over her lap. Then she pursed her lips into a small smile and shook her head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t do this anymore,” she started, lifting a hand to shush him when she saw his mouth open, “Even </span>
  <em>
    <span>if</span>
  </em>
  <span> your expedition was tempting, which I doubt, I don’t know who you are or how you heard of me. I have no idea of where you want to go, and most importantly, I probably wouldn’t be able to help you since many of my transit permits have expired…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Leon Vance, and </span>
  <span>Al-Khan al-Azraq.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His voice was steady, confident, and they made her head turn as if she had been physically slapped. He seemed to realize he had made a mistake, since he straightened in his chair and eyed her carefully, but it only took Jack a second to shake off her reaction and turn back to him. Her voice was soft, but her eyes steeled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So it’s the Blue Hotel” she took a sip from her coffee, wincing at how quickly it had gone cold, “An odd place for a human to visit. People say it’s cursed.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course people say that,” his voice was confident, and she could hear in its tone he was tired of the stories, “People also think </span>
  <em>
    <span>we</span>
  </em>
  <span> are cursed, don’t they? Why’s it matter?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jack pondered his words for a moment, sliding a finger over the rim of her cup. Her head bounced softly in a nod he was sure was subconscious. Resting his elbows back on the table, Gibbs inched closer to her, encouraged by her lack of reaction.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Listen, I just need to know where…” he trailed off, looking away for a second, “If Toni’s lost, I just need to know…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He could feel her eyes going softer on him, and the gentle hand she hesitantly placed on his arm took him by surprise. When he looked up at her, he felt his heart shrink and expand in his chest by the sight in front of him. He was used to people pitying him, had grown immune to the looks they gave him, and knew how to react to them, but what lay deep in Jack’s eyes was </span>
  <em>
    <span>understanding</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and it hit him how long he had gone without that look.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know how long you’ve been missing her, but if she’s gone it’s very likely that she doesn’t want to be found.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t tell me you didn’t try,” he dared her, tone harsher than he intended, but she only patted his arm a couple of times before resting her crossed arms on the table and shrugging.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What? Is chasing after my daemon the only way I can show him I care?” she snorted and shook her head, looking out the balcony. “There’s too much hurt between me and Bay already. We meet on occasion, but a long-term relationship? That’s out of the question.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Gibbs’ eyes widened at her revelation, and for a second Jack thought he was going to get up and leave, but it didn’t take long for him to school his features. Without taking his eyes from her, he raised his arm and pointed in the direction of his old table with his thumb.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not looking for a shrink. I know what I need to do,” he started with a voice of steel, “I’ll pay ya upfront and you just get me there then each of us goes on with life.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jack tilted her head to the side and looked at him through her lashes. She felt for the man, she really did. It took her a long time to come to terms with her loss. Daemons and humans were meant to be irremovable companions, and going through the separation created a rift between them that was almost impossible to bridge. Hell, even those who managed to cohabit knew their relationship was never the same. They lacked the intuitiveness of it, the instant reaction, the empathy… having no secrets to hold from each other, knowing there was another being in the world who </span>
  <em>
    <span>understood</span>
  </em>
  <span> every thought. It was hard to let go of it all, but it was worse to carry the burden for too long. With a sigh, she took a pen out of her dress pocket and scribbled on a napkin before handing it to Gibbs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is a good friend of mine…” she started saying, but the man pushed the paper away and started getting up. Jack raised her hands as if surrendering and shot him a sympathetic glance. When he wordlessly turned around to get his bag, she rose and approached him, swiftly placing the napkin in his coat pocket. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s a good friend of mine who might consider the job if you tell him I sent you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Gibbs glanced at the balcony for a second before looking at her with his piercing blue eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s only one guide I’ll take,” he said with a shrug before starting towards the stairs. When he was halfway down, he added, “I’ll be by the river ‘til tomorrow at 700. Be there or don’t.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jack snorted with disbelief at his boldness and stood on the spot frozen for a moment, facing the stairs. Only a mad man would be so adamant about going to the Blue Hotel, though she understood the reason for his madness. Even if they weren’t together as they should, Jack and Bay still paid each other a visit from time to time, as if to alleviate the desperation within them. The man didn’t even know if his daemon was alive…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As she walked back to her table and sat down to look out the balcony, she decided she would pay Bay a visit later that night. The man with a mission had given her something to talk about with the daemon, and Jack never let an opportunity pass her by.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Deal</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“Are you sure?” his words floated down towards her in its soft tenor tone, and she could almost hear endearment in it, “Before you made the trip, we knew nothing from each other. Look at us now, being all cozy around the fire. Next thing you know, we’ll start singing songs and baking cookies.”</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Finally posting this one because I've officially started the 3rd chapter.<br/>Again, I'm mostly writing it for my own satisfaction because His Dark Materials is a weird choice for a Slibbs AU, but I hope you enjoy it as well!</p>
<p>To add a brief explanation of this world, in HDM Philip Pullman details a world parallel to ours in which every human has a companion called "daemon." These creatures are essentially the physical manifestation of a human's inner-self, and are mostly autonomous, though they share a deep emotional and soul-ish bond with their humans. Daemon and human aren't supposed to be apart from each other, and moving too far away can prove to be a painful experience. Still, some of them go through the process of separation, which allows them to put long distances between them. The downside is that this not only breaks the physicality of their bond, but also their emotional connection. </p>
<p>That summary sucks, but I swear I tried my best. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em>
      <span>“We are all subject to the fates. But we must all act as if we are not,” said the witch, “or die of despair.” Philip Pullman</span>
    </em>
  </p>
</blockquote><hr/>
<p>
  <span>“So what’s her name?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Didn’t catch it. I’m not even sure he said it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You should have said yes. Easy money.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s nothing easy about it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why not? You know you’ll find nothing there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stop being a smartass, Bay.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He had come in the middle of the night and snuck in through her living room window. No, he had let himself in. There was a specific reason why Jack always left that window open. A truce of sorts between her and the mink to let him know he would always be welcome, even if he never stayed for long.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was already asleep, but the daemon didn’t hesitate to climb up the bed and brush its tail against her face until she woke up, wrinkling her eyes and batting a hand in front of her face to push him away. He got his kicks out of it, as if the memory of a lost camaraderie could ever make up for whatever was missing between them. Her eyes always betrayed her, and he couldn’t help but feel a thrill run down his body when he saw the ghost of a smile in them. There was a time when Bay didn’t need to wonder what she was thinking about when her mouth twitched upwards.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tonight, however, wasn’t about going down memory lane. No night was about that anymore. She had gone up to the meadow in search for him -at least that’s what he was told- and he kept his word to always be there to lend a hand. It led him to rest on the shelf above her chimney, listening to her talk about the strange man with a not-so-strange mission. She sat on her leather chair, old and weathered with use, wrapped up in a blanket and holding a cup full of peanuts in her hands, with the fire as the only source of light. It had to be uncomfortable for her to constantly look up at him, but he preferred it that way. As if the height made up for his smaller size.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I wasn’t trying to be,” he started, letting his tail hang from the chimney mantle, “and before you accuse me of not needing to </span>
  <em>
    <span>try</span>
  </em>
  <span>, let’s remember it was you who came looking for me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jack squinted her eyes at him and shook her head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It would be a real shame if that fluffy tale of yours caught fire,” she warned, eyeing the chimney just as Bay discreetly pulled his tail up again, settling it on top of him as a blanket, “We’ve been down that road, Bay. We know nothing good comes out of it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you sure?” his words floated down towards her in its soft tenor tone, and she could almost hear endearment in it, “Before you made the trip, we knew nothing from each other. Look at us now, being all cozy around the fire. Next thing you know, we’ll start singing songs and baking cookies.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She tossed a peanut at him, which had the mink promptly lifting its head to catch it in the air. Jack huffed with annoyance but settled more comfortably on the chair.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It doesn’t mean it’ll work for him,” her eyes drifted to the fire as her brows furrowed lightly, “He still sounds hurt, though I get the feeling they’ve been apart far longer than us. It feels desperate, you know?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Weren’t you desperate?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jack didn’t answer immediately and instead shoved a handful of peanuts to her mouth as if buying time. She had been desperate, there was no way of denying it. The trip itself had been so hazardous it felt like proof of her undying devotion to the cheeky mink perched over her fireplace? . Jack had no problem with the never-ending amount of trains she had to hop on, or how unpredictable her diet became. Hell, she didn’t even mind spending nights in questionable hotels. What truly got her on high alert were the staring men at every corner, curious about the woman who dared travel alone, invading her personal space… The more she approached the Levante, the bolder they became, and she had to learn how to hold her travel bag as a shield while she slept on the trains, her back to the window. It had been too stressful, and Bay hadn’t been there to comfort her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course I was.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It came out as a whisper, so soft she doubted for a moment that Bay had heard her, but with a swift jump from the shelf, he landed on her lap and carefully took the cup from her hands to set it on the coffee table. Then, surprising Jack with a gesture he hadn’t made in five years, Bay climbed up her arm to nest himself around her neck. The woman heard a strangled sob ring through the room, and it took her a minute to realize she was the one to let it out. Her eyes welled up with tears, but she made an effort to keep them at bay as her head tilted to the side to rub against the mink’s soft fur.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Would you have stopped in his place?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She didn’t have to answer that out loud.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>The rain came with the morning. To be more accurate, the rain didn’t stop all night and even though it was a light drizzle, Gibbs still felt the strong current of the river below the boat. He was sitting on a stool on the deck, wearing a raincoat without minding the weather. In his hands, he held the napkin Jack had given him with a name and an address. If he waited a few more hours than planned and paid the man a visit, he might succeed at getting a guide for his expedition.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>But it won’t be her.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shook his head and lifted a hand to rub one eye with his palm. Then he tore  the napkin in half, easily since it was soaking wet, then scrunched it into a ball and carelessly tossed it into the water behind him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That ain’t gonna clean itself, you know?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His head turned towards the voice he heard his neck pop painfully, but he ignored the discomfort as he stood to climb out of the boat. He also ignored the voice in his mind that chastised him for his eagerness.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s just paper. No animal will choke on it,” he said as he took in the woman in front of him. She was also wearing a raincoat, as well as rainboots -or </span>
  <em>
    <span>wellies</span>
  </em>
  <span>- as they were called in England. They had a talent to make the language less obvious. She was also carrying a medium sized bag that she promptly dropped at his feet, keeping her eyes on his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmm, I really hope you don’t have a habit of littering,” she said, placing her hands on her hips before turning towards the boat, “I take it this is our ride?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The bag had given her away, of course, but he couldn’t help the surge of excitement that rushed through his body. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Our</span>
  </em>
  <span> she said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> “This will be our ride out of here,” he started, hand in his pockets, “Then I assume we’ll take some trains.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jack nodded and then broke into a wide smile, opening her arms wide and looking up at the sky, letting her hood fall back, dampening her hair. Gibbs watched her with furrowed brows and was about to talk when she turned back at him. He could have been  imagining it, but he thought he saw a new spark in her eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes,” she said, her voice surprisingly firm for her recent display, “Well, at least that’s the fastest route.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a pat on his shoulder, she walked past him and into the boat, a cheeky smile set on her lips, “I hope you’re ready for all the landmarks. It’s the tour of a life!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Without looking at her, still taken aback by her antics, Gibbs leaned down to grab her bag and hopped into the boat after her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not really in this for the tourism.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He made sure to imprint disdain into his voice as he quickly disappeared below deck. When he reemerged, her bag was gone. Jack’s smile was gone, replaced by furrowed brows and those deep eyes full of understanding.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This trip, your reasons, and your destination… It’s going to be hard on you,” she warned. He wondered if she was aware of the slight tilt of her head that conveyed such sympathy, if it was a calculated move.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You may find nothing, or you might find it all. Whatever it is, my job ends as soon as we reach the Blue Hotel. Whatever you decide to do afterwards is up to you. Is that clear?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why did you change your mind?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jack seemed taken aback by the question and paused for a moment before answering, her eyes glanced to their surroundings, though there wasn’t much to be seen in the dark of the early hours. Then she shrugged one shoulder and crossed her arms over her chest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was reminded of how it felt… you know, not knowing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Gibbs kept his eyes fixed on her with an intensity that made her want to take a step back and climb out of the boat, but the stubborn side of her kept her grounded in place. After a few seconds, he gave a short nod and reached his hand out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We got a deal, Sloane.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When she shook his hand, smile back in place, something inside her told her she would come back a different person.</span>
</p>
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